Sunday, August 4, 2013

Stosur breaks Azarenka curse, wins Carlsbad

Sam Stosur, who hadn't beaten Victoria Azarenka in eight previous attempts, defeated her in straight sets today in the final of the Southern California Open. Stosur's 6-2, 6-3 victory puts her in the lead in the U.S. Open Series rankings.

Throughout the tournament, the Australian star--who hadn't won a tournament since she took the U.S. Open title two years ago--looked like a winner. Playing with the aggression that serves her so well when she uses it, Stosur was tested mightily, but prevailed, over Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarterfinals. She was also given a tough test by Virginie Razzano in the semifinals. In the final, Stosur had to contend with a somewhat sluggish, definitely off-her-game Azarenka, but that, too, can be dangerous. Nevertheless, Stosur used her serve and her net play to take care of matters.

Knocked out of Stanford in the first round, Stosur requested a wild card into Carlsbad at the last minute. Good move, Sam.

3rd seeds Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears won the doubles title, taking out Chan Hao-Ching and Janette Husarova 6-4, 6-1 in the final. Kops-Jones and Spears also won the title in Stanford last week.

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